The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 241

Ranked S from the moment it drew its first breath, the sea serpent reigned as the apex of sea monsters, destined to rule its territory if it lived to fully mature.

Among the sea serpents, the Sea Dragon King had reached the terrifying Chaos Demon Tier, dominating the entire sea with fearsome power. Why had such a cunning, mighty beast that even high-level Rank A adventurer teams had abandoned hope of subduing become a vile pawn of the Outer God?

The expedition forces had no time to ponder such mysteries. The monstrous creature ahead, easily several kilometers long, surged toward them with fury.

Northern God Style

Instance Opening Counter Technique

Deep Frost Shroud

Leonard, who had landed directly in front of the beast’s massive face, unleashed a torrent of jet-black augmented energy from his blade, so dark it seemed to stain the air itself. This was the ultimate form of martial arts, a conceptual technique that reshaped reality through sheer willpower.

Abandoning any idea of offense, Leonard focused all his energy on an intensely durable barrier. A black wall, dark as the night sky and hard as diamond, rose to meet the Leviathan’s assault. Even if Demian’s One of Thousand could break it, he would struggle to penetrate it.

Baa-boom!!

However, an explosive roar thundered across the water, sending waves crashing high into the sky. The Leviathan, smashing through the barrier of Deep Frost Shroud in one brutal strike, slammed into the Zaratan with reduced momentum.

Although the creature had intended to crush the ship between its monstrous jaws, its timing was off, resulting in a body slam rather than a deadly bite. That was fortunate, since the Zaratan’s shell, its protective armor, had not yet closed, leaving the ship vulnerable to serious damage.

Fortunately, the Golden Dragon Knights were on deck.

—Form the lines!

The mighty martial artists of the Shaolin Temple, located in the northern part of Mount Tai in the Central Plains murim rarely used this kind of formation. But here, there were thirty-six Transcendence Tier warriors who moved in near-perfect unison, their strength having surpassed human limits. Moreover, they had also mastered a truly mythical formation.

The legendary Eighteen Arhat Formation, one of the three greatest battle formations of the Central Plains, was said to be so formidable that legendary masters had to conquer it alone to truly earn their title.

A fitting formation for many-against-one combat, its foundation lay in a wheel-like structure, its ever-shifting nature often likened to the works of the heavens.

The Golden Dragon Knights’ synergy and mastery allowed them to form a flawless wheel formation—one that combined defense and offense, weakening external attacks while amplifying their power within the formation.

Divided into two groups, the Golden Dragon Knights deployed the Eighteen Arhat Formation, each group channeling the Nine Palaces layout in perfect sync.

When the Leviathan struck the Zaratan, the impact echoed like the toll of a massive bell.

“Ugh! This strength is unbelievable! That beast is insane!”

“My whole body aches! Not even the commander’s ultimate technique could land a proper blow!?”

“But we can still hold firm! We can do this!”

If there had been thirty-six Peak Realm experts instead, they would likely have been pulverized instantly. Even if they were all Apex Realm experts, they would still have died eventually, and in the case of Transcendence Tier knights, at least half would have died, with the rest unable to fight.

However, the resilience and aura potency of the Golden Dragon Knights was unmatched.

A little muscle soreness and some joint strain. This should recover in ten seconds at most. We can handle this.

With the commander’s training and the new formation, we can stand against this Demigod Tier beast!

This is our chance to prove ourselves as knights of Cardenas!

The two Eighteen Arhat Formations spun like a whirlwind, dissipating and absorbing the monstrous force, ultimately reducing the stress on the Zaratan almost to zero.

Demian's expression shifted to one of awe and shock.

“...The Cardenas family has no records of such secret techniques! Leonard, is this also your doing?”

“The Golden Dragon knights’ unique strengths boosted the effect significantly. In its original form, it wouldn’t have displayed such power,” Leonard admitted.

The coordination and intensity displayed by the Golden Dragon Knights had far exceeded even Leonard’s wildest expectations.

Their terrifying synergy was the result of an uncanny creation—failed by design—where their consciousness was inadvertently linked. These knights possessed bodies that seemed like a fusion of the Vajra Physique and Ethereal Body, moving in perfect unison.

Originally failed experiments, these knights held a special advantage: their bodies could harmonize at an unprecedented level, allowing seamless collaboration within a complex battle formation.

Their formation, which required eighteen individuals to coordinate, was significantly more efficient the less discordance there was.

It was almost impossible even for siblings who had lived together their entire lives to achieve such harmony between their bodies and minds. And yet, the Golden Dragon Knights had managed to achieve just that.

“We'll hold it down! Now, strike!” shouted Una, the team leader of the Golden Dragon Knights’ First Unit.

The knights of the First Unit split into three sub-formations, combining the Six Harmonies and the Three Aspects layouts. This was a formation designed specifically for restraining powerful foes.

Rumble!!!

A radiant augmented energy shot from the swords of the eighteen knights, wrapping around the Leviathan multiple times.

No matter how powerful it was, augmented sword energy could not possibly deal with a monster of this weight and strength. However, after weakening and amplifying it eighteen times over, the knights’ power surged to 324 times its usual effectiveness, if only briefly.

Forgetting about any offensive or defensive stances, the knights’ sole focus was to use all their might to pin down their opponent.

Even with its formidable form, the Leviathan stiffened momentarily, struggling violently to free itself from the shackles of condensed sword energy. It thrashed about, shaking the colossal Zaratan multiple times in its effort to break free from the ensnaring force.

The eighteen Golden Dragon knights, operating at 324 times their usual efficiency, had managed to bind the Leviathan for three seconds—a fleeting moment that also felt stretched to the limit.

And in those three crucial seconds, the second group had channeled all their power into a single, intense beam of energy.

As eighteen Golden Dragon knights, each well above the normal Transcendence Tier, unleashed all their strength, an explosion erupted.

The sheer force was several times greater than even a Demigod Tier commander’s highest level of attack, warping space, slowing time, and causing even the laws of nature to tremble. The beam tore straight through the Leviathan.

■■■■■■■■■——!?!

The creature, which had shrugged off previous attacks from Leonard and Demian as mere scratches, recoiled with a piercing roar as its seemingly indestructible flesh and immense life force had finally been breached.

It was not quite a fatal blow, but the strike had nonetheless inflicted significant damage. A spray of putrid blood gushed forth, contaminating the water. The ichor, tainted with Charybdis’s power, was more poisonous than any other venom.

Then, the augmented energy holding the Leviathan began to flicker, and just as it broke free, the monster prepared to unleash its fury.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

High above, mounted on her broomstick, the Grand Magus Cruella flashed a wicked grin and wagged her finger. Instantly, dozens of translucent ships materialized around the Leviathan, crashing into it in rapid succession.

A single ship wouldn't have done anything; ten ships would barely make an impact; but with twenty or even thirty ships, the expedition had a real chance at slowing the beast down. These were Phantom Ships—a phenomenon they had previously witnessed with the Pequod. However, this was different.

No... this is more advanced. Cruella has reshaped shipwrecks and spirits sunken in the Sixth Sea District into these Phantom Ships. They won't last long before disintegrating, but for now, they’re effective.

Though the Leviathan staggered under the initial hits, it quickly adjusted, opening its cavernous jaws and swallowing three Phantom Ships whole. These were ethereal, not physical, but somehow the Leviathan could devour them. It seemed like an attack capable of interfering with the conceptual realm.

Realizing what had happened, Demian quickly explained to Leonard, “It seems the Leviathan’s bite has inherited Charybdis's authority. It can consume and erase anything. Whatever you do, don't get swallowed—it will drag you into a void dimension, and there's no coming back.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

As Cruella held the Leviathan at bay, the expedition forces swiftly reassembled into formation. With Leonard and Demian each delivering powerful strikes, the Golden Dragon knights above the Zaratan fired in sync, leaving no openings for the monster.

“Bringer of dawn, light that banishes the night! The arrow that splits through dark blood! The spear of sun that shatters the baleful moon and silences the wolf god’s cry!”

From overhead, Nicholas, the Class 9 Grand Magus known as the Librarian, uttered a powerful incantation to unleash a supreme spell. Summoning the ancient might of the Chief God, the God of Light, a searing globe materialized, coalescing into a spear aimed at the Leviathan.

“Strike and destroy, Lugh Lamhfhata!”

Despite the Leviathan's incredible resilience, the holy spear tore through its battered hide, piercing deep into the monster and exiting through the other side.

The blast surpassed the power of both Moonlight Penetrating Wave and One of Thousand. While it required extensive preparation and consumed far more resources, it was undeniable that supreme magic was more potent than conceptual martial arts.

This was a recreation of divine authority through the laws of the world, a force diametrically opposed to beings from beyond this reality.

To everyone’s astonishment, Lugh Lamhfhata tore through the Leviathan's tough exterior, burrowed into its internal organs, and then pierced clean through to the opposite side of its massive body.

The power of the supreme magic alone was overwhelming, but the success also reflected the accumulated damage the expedition forces had inflicted on the beast. No matter how much time and sacrifice the Outer God’s cult had poured into this ritual, they had failed to fully replicate Charybdis’s true might.

Perhaps if the cultists had chosen a more compatible host capable of wielding that level of power—someone akin to Surtr—the outcome might have been different. But at this rate, slaying the Leviathan was within reach.

Watching the battle unfold, the Outer God Charybdis realized the dire situation at hand and the need for drastic measures.

As an infamous sea serpent that ruled over the ocean, the Leviathan, although incredibly strong, was particularly known for its cunningness. Even after being corrupted by Charybdis, its original consciousness had managed to persist. This forced Charybdis to dedicate part of its power to suppress the Leviathan’s will.

—■■■■.

Charybdis effortlessly released the bindings. Even if the Leviathan broke free of its grasp, the beast had already become an enemy of the world. There was no option but for it to continue fighting the expedition forces.

And sure enough, things played out according to the Outer God’s whim.

"...What’s going on?"

The first to notice the change was Leonard, who had been peeling away the Leviathan’s outer shell with his conceptual martial arts.

With his heightened perception, reaching the level of the dragons, he sensed an unprecedented transformation occurring within the Leviathan. Though he couldn’t pinpoint the specifics, he instinctively knew the momentum of the battle was shifting.

Before he could warn his allies, it struck first.

Rumble...! Ruuumble...!

Leonard, his focus locked on Leviathan, had failed to notice the storm clouds rapidly consuming the sky.

It was thunder and lightning. The sky roared furiously, as if preparing to unleash a tempest of devastation. Then it came—a deluge of lightning bolts, their speed and power among the most terrifying phenomena in nature.

Boooooooommmmm—!!!!

A deafening cacophony erupted as blinding flashes of lightning illuminated the world, making it seem like broad daylight. The barrage did not relent, striking in rapid succession, making the air feel like it was burning.

It was then that a sharp and urgent realization struck Leonard.

—Leonard, this isn’t Charybdis’s authority! That entity doesn’t have the ability to control thunder, lightning, or weather! This has to be a power the Leviathan either originally possessed or awakened due to Charybdis’s influence!

This was not supposed to be possible. Leviathan, until now, had relied on its overwhelming physical prowess as a colossal beast, engaging in brute-force combat. Powers like regeneration and body reinforcement were innate to its form, but abilities that required activation and control—those were not something an unthinking creature could wield.

This could mean only one thing:

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It regained its intelligence—?!

The moment Leonard pieced it all together, the wrath of the Sea Dragon King erupted with terrifying ferocity.

A tempest of rage surged forth, fueled by hatred for the Outer God that had mutilated its body and the humans who had tormented it. Storm clouds thickened, lightning crackled, and violent currents churned. Leviathan’s mastery over these elements elevated its power to an entirely new level.

Although its raw output had only increased by ten to twenty percent, its precision and control were chillingly effective. What had previously been random lightning strikes now targeted the two ships and the Demigod Tier beings with unnerving accuracy.

Groarrrrrr!!!

Leviathan roared, its cavernous maw sucking in the surrounding air with a force that defied nature. Leonard and Demian gritted their teeth, holding their ground as they raised their swords against the powerful pull.

Meanwhile, Cruella and Nicholas moved closer to their allies, positioning themselves in the rear as they began chanting their supreme magic spells. They could sense it—any lapse in focus or vulnerability now would spell disaster.

Thus, the second phase of the battle began.